Arsenal have moved ahead of Liverpool in the race to sign MartÃn Zubimendi after entering into advanced talks with Real Sociedad to land the midfielder, sources have told ESPN.
The north London side are pursuing an agreement which would most likely see the 25-year-old join the club at the end of the season.
One source has suggested Arsenal were pushing for Zubimendi to join the club this month but he is expected to remain in Spain until the summer.
A deal is yet to be finalised but Arsenal are the clear frontrunners to sign the midfielder, who rejected a move to Liverpool a year earlier.
Manchester City are also tracking the Spain international after Rodri was ruled out for potentially the entire season with a knee injury while Real Madrid have been credited with an interest.
Sources say that Zubimendi has a €60 million ($61.4m) release clause which Arsenal are expected to trigger.
Sources added that Mikel Arteta has played a key role in talks with Zubimendi, who would join his former Sociedad teammate Mikel Merino at Emirates Stadium should an agreement be finalised.
A successful pursuit would cast further doubt over the futures of Jorginho and Thomas Partey, who both have contracts which expire at the end of the season.
No decision has been taken on either player as yet.
Jorginho's representatives held talks with Palmeiras as the Italy international assesses his options but sources have told ESPN the Brazilian club are not interested in pursuing a deal at this time.
Partey has previously attracted interest from Saudi Arabia but is likely facing a need to take a significant cut to his wage of around £250,000-a-week.
